# Farmers-Market Marketplace — Product Planning Meeting

**Date:** July 16, 2026  
**Time:** 10:00–11:00 a.m. ET  
**Location:** Zoom  
**Facilitator:** Maya Chen  
**Note-taker:** Daniel Ortiz

## Attendees

- Maya Chen — Product Manager
- Daniel Ortiz — Operations Lead
- Priya Shah — Engineering Lead
- Jordan Lee — UX Designer
- Elena Rossi — Vendor Success Manager
- Marcus Green — Marketing Lead
- Sam Wilson — Customer Support

## Agenda

1. Review marketplace pilot feedback
2. Confirm vendor onboarding requirements
3. Discuss pickup, delivery, and order-cutoff rules
4. Prioritize features for the public launch
5. Assign launch-readiness tasks

## Discussion Notes

- The eight-week pilot included 27 vendors across three markets and approximately 430 customers.
- Customers liked browsing products before market day, but several were confused about whether inventory was guaranteed.
- Vendors reported that weekly catalog updates took too long, especially when entering similar produce in multiple sizes.
- Saturday pickup was the most popular fulfillment option. Home delivery demand was concentrated within five kilometres of the downtown market.
- Support received repeated questions about substitutions, missed pickups, and refunds for damaged produce.
- The team agreed that each vendor should manage inventory independently, while market organizers retain the ability to suspend listings that violate marketplace policies.
- Engineering noted that same-day inventory syncing is feasible, but real-time syncing would add complexity and is unnecessary for launch.
- Marketing proposed a “Meet Your Grower” campaign featuring vendor profiles, growing practices, and seasonal product highlights.

## Decisions

- The public launch will include preorder-and-pickup only. Home delivery will remain limited to the pilot group until delivery costs and routing are better understood.
- Orders will close at 6:00 p.m. the day before each market.
- Vendors must confirm inventory by 8:00 p.m. after the order window closes.
- Customers may opt into substitutions at checkout and specify acceptable alternatives.
- Vendors will be able to duplicate prior-week listings and adjust quantities, prices, and availability.
- Payments will be captured when the vendor confirms the order, not when the customer submits it.
- Customers who miss pickup may receive a refund at the vendor’s discretion; marketplace service fees will remain non-refundable.
- The launch scope will include vendor profiles, product search and filters, order notifications, pickup instructions, and basic sales reporting.
- Loyalty rewards, recurring baskets, and customer reviews were deferred until after launch.
- The target public launch date is September 12, 2026.

## Action Items

- **Priya:** Confirm the technical approach for delayed payment capture and document failure scenarios by July 22.
- **Jordan:** Update checkout designs to include substitution preferences and clearer inventory messaging by July 24.
- **Elena:** Draft the vendor onboarding checklist, listing standards, and missed-pickup policy by July 25.
- **Daniel:** Finalize pickup-zone signage and the market-day handoff process with participating market managers by July 29.
- **Sam:** Create support templates for substitutions, damaged items, payment failures, and missed pickups by July 30.
- **Marcus:** Prepare the “Meet Your Grower” launch campaign and identify six vendors for initial profiles by August 1.
- **Maya:** Publish the prioritized launch backlog and confirm success metrics with the team by July 21.
- **Maya and Daniel:** Review delivery pilot costs and recommend whether to expand delivery by August 15.

## Open Questions

- Should vendors be allowed to set different refund policies, or should the marketplace enforce one standard policy?
- How long should unconfirmed orders remain pending before they are automatically cancelled?
- What minimum sales volume should trigger access to advanced vendor reporting?
- Should customers receive SMS notifications at launch, or should notifications initially be email-only?

## Next Meeting

**Date:** July 30, 2026  
**Focus:** Launch backlog review, vendor onboarding readiness, and resolution of open payment-policy questions.